Tether Tools Air Direct Wireless Tethering ($329) offers advanced tethering technology allowing you to tether Sony cameras wirelessly to Capture One, Imaging Edge Remote & Smart Shooter 4. It connects through the camera’s USB tethering port and provides the same control possible with wired tethering.
While Sony a7R IV internal Wifi and Air Direct are both 5Ghz 802.11AC, Air Direct has two antennas which are much larger than internal camera antennas and signals have a hard time passing through metal camera housings, so you should see a speed improvement with Air Direct since it’s been designed to reach the maximum transfer potential 802.11AC has to offer.
When considering transfer speed, bear in mind that RAW files can get very large. RAW transfer speeds of Compressed RAW 60MB files will be about 7-8 seconds (double that for Uncompressed RAW). So with high resolution cameras, you may wish to shoot RAW+JPEG since JPEG will transfer in 1-2 seconds for immediate review and RAW will transfer behind it.
• RAW and JPEG transfer to Mac and PC
• Works with any USB Tether Camera
• Works with any Tethering Software that supports your camera
• 802.11AC Wi-Fi connection
• USB-C technology for lightning fast transfer
• LP-E6 battery, DC, and USB power options
• Air Remote App provides compatibility with iOS or Android devices
• Enables wireless camera control as well as simultaneous RAW and JPEG image transfer
5x Faster
The latest USB-C technology coupled with 802.11 AC wireless protocol for 5X faster transfer speed. TetherPro Cables for all supported cameras* included. *Phase One Cable Kit sold separate.
Raw & Jpeg Transfer
Transfer any image file directly from your camera to your computer with Wireless PTP. No watch folders. No hot folders.
Your Software. No Compromises
Air Direct provides all native features in your tether software of choice. Adjust camera settings, LiveView, overlay, capture.Rate and tag images right in your own catalog.
Power How You Work
Top loading battery for quick access. DC port for external USB Battery Packs or uninterrupted A/C power. Hot swap power and Air Direct remains connected. No downtime.
Dual Band, Greater Range
2.4GHz or 5GHz bandwidth for faster transmission, further distance and less environmental interference. Dual high-powered internal antennas for greater range.
Order Tether Tools Air Direct from B&H Photo
32 thoughts on “Tether Tools Announces Air Direct Wireless Tethering for Sony Cameras”
So the question is… Which is faster? The built in WiFi AC 5Ghz on the Sony a7R IV or this new Air Direct?
I tested tethering with the built in WiFi on the Sony and it was painful.
They’re both 5Ghz 802.11AC but Air Direct has two antennas which are much larger than internal camera antennas and signals have a hard time passing through metal camera housings so you should see a speed improvement with Air Direct over internal WiFi transfer.
Bear in mind that a7R IV produces HUGE raws, so you shouldn’t expect them to transfer as fast as you can shoot.
Would have been amazing if they implemented WiFi 6. I have that running in my photo studio now and have seen huge benefits in signal and speed.
How is this compared to wired thethered?
It also seems to tie up the hot shoe? So no studio flash w?
Wireless transfer – even at 5Ghz – is MUCH slower than a wired USB-C connection.
Air Direct connects via USB, so it doesn’t need to be mounted in the MI shoe. That’s simply a handy place if not otherwise taken.
It looks like it just uses the shoe as a mount. You can side load this on a tripod or bracket and still use a flash trigger in your shoe.
Can you natively adjust camera settings from within Capture One via Air Direct Wireless? How slow is the wireless transfer? I have given up using tethering cables, it all ends up frustrating me alot. Some days it connects and other it fails.
It provides the same control possible with wired tethering.
WiFi transfer – even 5Ghz is MUCH slower that USB-C. Air Direct makes a lot of sense for those who shoot sparingly, but not those shooting thousands of images in rapid succession.
Does this work with Imaging Edge Brian? Thanks.
Tethering is possible with any tethering software that supports a wired connection which for Sony would include Imaging Edge Remote.
Does this plug into the same connection point on the camera that the Pocket Wizard uses? Is it possible to use this and a Pocket W at the same time?
Air Direct is USB-C connection. PocketWizard connect either using MI shoe or PC terminal on cameras that have one.
Will Air Direct provides all native features in Sony Imaging Edge?
It provides the same control possible with wired tethering
Tether Tools haven’t bothered to answer my question about this. Not good customer service is it?
I’m not certain they are monitoring this post.
Same here! No honey no money!!! I may go with Camranger 2 instead. What do you think of Camramger 2 Brian?
Tether Tools Air Direct is the only option that allows direct tethering to Capture One Pro or Imaging Edge Remote exactly as you would with a USB cable. Other options rely upon a proprietary app to connect
Actually Cam-Fi Pro Plus also will allow tethering to C1, but I have no idea if it’s any good. Sure wish that the Air Direct worked with iOS app as well (only works with Canon and Nikon currently), if it did, I’d buy it in a heart beat. That would allow you to use it mobile (i.e. architecture photography as well as studio). Probably too slow for regular studio use though, unless you do Raw+JPG and just send the JPG to C1 for reference. in any case, not the best workflow…
Wifi is definitely much slower than a wired connection. All the wireless options transfer at about the same speed which depending on RAW file size ranges from slow to extremely slow.
Brian – I asked this question on their own Q&A page on their website. Looks like no one is monitoring that either. Thanks.
I’m fairly certain everyone from Tether Tools is in transit of set-up for PhotoPlus Expo in New York which start Thursday.
I use Profoto ligts with an air remote. How can they be used when the hotshoe is taken up for this device>
Get yourself a bracket with coldshoe for the Air Direct
Or get a cage from SmallRig.com I got one for the a7R IV that’s amazing and VERY affordable!
can you review it, sir? really courius how this tether tools air direct work with sony A7 and laptop/tablet, can it? thank you
It works exactly the same as a wired USB connection – only slower. In other words, you tether using Imaging Edge Remote or Capture One Pro – just as you would with a USB hard-wire connection.
Received a couple days ago, have spent a few hours testing with various hardware combos: macOS, Android, iOS apps, Fuji & Nikon cameras. macOS: ADU found the Air Direct, but neither Capture One nor Lightroom ever saw any camera. Android: never saw the Air Direct at all. iOS: sometimes connects, showed live view once, never successfully transferred an image. If I hadn’t seen live view work once in the iOS app, I would suspect a hardware failure. But it did sort of almost work that one time, and this is a very new product, so I suspect it just shipped before the software/firmware was ready. Maybe I’ll give Tether Tools another shot in six months or so, but for now, this is clearly not functional for any configuration I use, and it’s getting shipped back. Also worth noting that the Air Direct cannot join an existing wifi network, it can only create its own. If you want wireless tethering + normal network access at the same time, you’re going to need two network interfaces. Again, I’d hope this capability will be added in a future update.
Great review Brian. Wondering if Tethertools will ever support Sony to IOS at some point in time? Otherwise, really of no use to me. Thanks!
The issue is not with TetherTools (which essentially functions like a wireless USB cable) but rather with Mac iOS which is not robust enough to run either Capture One Pro or Imaging Edge Remote. Microsoft takes the other approach with Surface Pro which runs Windows – not a mobile OS.
The ball is in Apple’s court but I doubt they’ll put it in play.